Wii Sports was the little game that could, a small collection of five sports games that catapulted Nintendo’s Wii console to a surprising lead in the latest console war. Wii Sports’ intuitive motion controls appealed to hardcore and casual gamers alike, and it even got people who rarely if ever play games to try their hands at it. So how do you improve on something that people already fell in love with? If you’re Nintendo, you take the original and make it better, quicker and more responsive. Wii Sports Resort is that improvement and will come complete with the Wii MotionPlus add-on.
Wii Sports Resort offers a much bigger and better casual-sports experience than the original Wii Sports. Old favorites like bowling and golf are back, complemented by 10 other games to make a total of 12 available activities. The game I was most excited to try was Swordplay, a fencing game.
Once again incorporating Miis for in-game avatars, Swordplay transforms the Wii-mote into the holster of a dueling rod that moves exactly the way you move your hand. Previous Wii games that involved swords, such as Red Steel or No More Heroes, were limited to slashing in a straight line across the screen. But now with Swordplay in Wii Sports Resort, you can slash in any direction with complete fluidity.
Each round begins with both players facing each other on a round stage with the objective being to knock the opponent out of the ring. Swing the Wii-mote to slash, and hold the A button to block. Hitting a blocking opponent throws your character off balance, opening you up to a counterattack.
The most exciting part of Swordplay, however, is not the game itself, but imagining what other games become possible because of Wii MotionPlus. As soon as I saw that there was a fencing game, one word immediately jumped to mind: lightsaber. It’s now only a matter of time before we get a true lightsaber game with realistic controls. I can’t wait. Other game companies have already jumped on the bandwagon. Wii Sports Resort has a golf game, but Electronic Arts has Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 due to be released this summer.
But what of Wii Sports Resort? In all honesty, everything I experienced at E3 made it look like a fun, enjoyable game — it even comes bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory. But a big part of the reason the original Wii Sports was popular was because it came included with every Wii console. With Wii Sports Resort going to market with compacted versions of sports alongside competitors’ fleshed-out versions of the same thing, Nintendo’s minigame collection becomes a bit less compelling.
Ultimately, it’ll be up to the consumer whether or not Wii Sports Resort is worth it. Personally, until I get a real lightsaber dueling game, I’ll be perfectly happy duking it out in Swordplay.
I am a Los Angeles-based writer and gamer who is always looking to combine my two main passions. I believe video games have the potential to become the best storytelling medium of the 21st century, and it is the writer's responsibility to encourage this process. Oh yeah, I'm also a nerd.
